Washing machine



July 14, 1931. P. J. MecoRMlcK WASHING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2. 1928 o ,afb o e @Q @6. o

@6i wom/f Patented July 14, 1931 :PETER zr. ivrcooRlvrIcK, or4 HAGERs'rowN, MARYLAND WASHING MACHINE y p Application filed November My invention relates to a washing machine adapted to permit water and suds to be scooped up to pass through the wall of a drum or rotating cylinder and preferably in Vtangential or substantially tangential direction thereof. w

For this purpose Ik provide the drum, which islmade to revolve in one direction, only with a series of peripheral buckets or scoops all facing in the same direction7 that is to say, in the direction of rotation of the drum, thereby forcing the washing liquid from'the outside into the drum and through the fabric of the clothes contained therein.

This has the advantage of exposing the material to be washed to a very thorough circulation of washing solution, hot Aor cold, thus avoiding the usual pounding, wringing, or 'squeezing of the materiahwhich operations are very detrimental to the same causing its struction.

Some of the .objects and advantages claimed for this yinvention will here be quickwearing out or total deenumerated The construction of mywashing machine is very simple, as it consists of veryfew parts and has, as a consequence, a very low cost of manufacture.

Due to the absence of vibrations the life of the apparatus is considerably longer than with ordinary washing machines in which the constant' reversal of motion causes a vio-y lent shaking of all parts of the machine and early disintegration and breaking up of its metallic structure. This has also for eHect that the washing becomes less thorough, because no sooner is the washing solution about to enter from one sideof the fabric l0 than its direction is abruptly reversed, so

that only the outer surface of the fabric will be Washed. lVith the uniform running in the same direction of the apparatus forming the subject matter of the present invention,

l5 on the other hand, the washing solution is forced right through the fabric and in one direction only, so that not only the surfaces but also the interior of the fabric becomes cleansed. For the same reason and the abi0 sence of the jerking back and forth of the a, 17928. serial No. 316,865.

movingparts, the machine itself will last much longer.

By embodying this principle of forcing the 'cleansing fluid through the fabric, all foreignv substances areV quickly and easily removed, and a much shorter time is required for completely cleaning a garment.

@niaccountof `no reversing of the machine being made and its constantly revolving in the same direction, the operation becomes practicallynoiseless and the power consumption and cost of operation is greatly reduce l In'the' accompanying drawings one emboiment .of the vinvention isl illustrated, an f Figure 1 .is a perspective View of the washingmachine forming the subject matter of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse section of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a vertical section along line 3 3 of Figure 2 with the drum in partial elevation and section.

Figure 4lis a vertical section in larger scale of .a detail of the apparatus; and,

' `Figure5 isa face view of Figure 4t.

Y Like'references in the several figures of ther drawingsrefer to thesame parts of theV apparatus.` Reference numeral. 1() represents the container or housing. witha dome-like or semicylindrical top portion A11 provided with a hopper or mouth portion 12 through which the material to be washed is deposited in the washing machine. The bottom 9 is preferably made in the form ofa half cylinder.

The two flat end walls 13 are provided with bearings 14 for stub-shafts 15 and 16 of which the vlatter carries a crank 17 in casev the machine is hand operated. In case the machine is to be power driven a pulley may take lthe place of the crank or the shaft 16 may be directly connected. to a small electric motor or the like. Roller 30 may be provided underthe container and a drain cock` 8 in one end thereof.

y Each of the stub-shafts 15 and 16 is of spidershape, that is to say, a plurality of radial arms '18 extend from its hub portion 19 to the mantle 20 of the drum 21 to which they are suitably secured as by bolts or rivets 22 that pass through said mantle and the inturned end portions of the arms 18 as shown in Figure 3. The end walls 23 of the drum are preferably formed of wire screen but it is evident that these walls may be made of perforated sheets to permit circulation of liquid in case other material is used. These end walis are in suitable man ner secured to theY mantle 20- andthe arms 18.

The mantle 2O is provided with a door' 27' curved to conform to the cylindrical shape of the mantle and secured in position by the usualA hinges 2S and latch or clasp 29.

In staggered rows on the mantle are tobe found a series of exteriorly opening buckets or scoops 24 and in circumferential alinevment therewithl similar buckets 25 opening inwards ofthe mantle. The main or exterior buckets 24 are facing in the direction of rotation of the drum, so that with the latter rovolving as indicated by arrow X the washing solution will be scooped up by these exterior buckets to enter the drum to= circulate therein. The shape and formation of the buckets is best seen in Figuresi and 5 of the drawings. They are pressed or stamped when preparingxthe plate for the mantle after first making a slit 26 which will form the 'forward edge or lipv of the exterior bucket 24 and the rearward edge of the interior bucket or kpocket 25. In other words the material forming each exterior bucket bulges outwardly while that of the interior bucket bulges in so that the adjacent edges of a pair of buckets 2st, 25 together describe a circle. In this manner compara.- tively wide openings around the periphery of the drum areY furnished through whichy the liquid readily enters the drum when it rotates in the housing in the direction denoted by arrow Accordingly, during operation the washing enters the drum through the buckets 24, always proceeding in one direction and. leaves the drum through the screened or perforated: ends 28. In this manner the washing mediumvis compelled to pass com. pletelythrough the fabric contained in the drum, thereby performing a very thorough cleaning. The novel construction of apertures 26, i. e., the outwardly and inwardly bulges, give openings of maximum area at right. angles to tangents andV thereby permit of easy and forceful iii-take flow of water. when theclothes container is rotated andfthereby the greatest efficiency of the machine is obtained. A further advantage in this formation of water scoops or intakes is that the clothes containing drum of the machine may be manufactured at a lesser cost than where the water apertures are of a more complicated design.

solution alwaysr Instead of making an all-metal drum as described above it may in some cases be preferable to use other material such as porcelain, glass, or fiber, in which case the construction of the drum will naturally follow different lines.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The drum 21 is first turned until it takes the position indicated in Figures 2 and 3 with the door'27- uppermost so as to register with the hopper opening 12. The door 27 is next opened and the material to be washed deposited in the drum, whereupon the door secured by the latch 29. At

is closed and this time, or previous to placing the clothes in the drum, the water and suds are poured into the container or housing 10, whereupon the drum is started to revolve always in the direction of arrow X and never reversely. As already stated the drum may be either hand or powery operated.

After running a sufficient length of time,

the washing solution. may be drained out of the machine and clean water substituted for rinsing ther clothes during continued revolving of the drum. If now the container is again drained, the moisture may be ren moved from the clothes by increasing the speedk of rotating the drum. Finally, the latter is stopped Vwith the door uppermost, so that it may be opened andV the clothes removed.

- It will be noted the machine is of such simple construction that the same may be manufactured from practically ordinary sto-ck purchased in the open market and thereby produced in large quantities at small cost. That is to say, the design and construction of the machine are such that there willbe no necessityrfor making'special parts which in this particular art would increase the cost of making to a point that wouldl otherwise renderthe manufacture and sale thereof prohibitive.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction here shown and described, but that these may be varied widely without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claim.

What I claim as new is:

A washing machine comprising a vessel, a cylindrical clothes container'journalled in said vessel and providing therewith a constricted annular space for the washing solution; said container comprising two stubshafts journalled inthe sides of the vessel,

spider arms mounted on said stubshafts and havingv inturned end portion, screen sections overlying said arms and providing water passageways, and a sheet metal drum fitting within 'the inturned ends of and connecting saidspider arms and therewith providing the clothes container, said drum having a plurality of apertures, each of said apertures being formed by outwardly and inwardly metal expanded portions, said portions being immediately adjacent and oppositely disposed providing orifices for scooping-in water when the container is rotated, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Washington, D. C., this eleventh day of October, A. D. nineteen hundred and twenty-eight.

PETER J. MGCORMICK. 

